I''m glad my post was of use to you.

About the fighting. I want to implement a realistic fighting system in an RPG. I realise that the player''s input devices are not up to the task, and anyway, as it''s an RPG I''m doing, the fight should rely more on the character''s skill then the player''s. The character could have a proficieny in different styles of fighting, and the player chooses which to use during the fight. The computer then handles the fighting. It can be done in real time, and can be complex and realistic, and to top it all off, your character could pull off some really good moves. The computer just has to match one character''s move, with a response for the attacked character, and depending on their skill, that response will be different. An amazing character with a massive reaction, could block all the punches sent to him, and counter when the enemy leaves their guard down.

This probably doesn''t directly tie-in to what you hope to acheive, but maybe you could do a hybrid, where the player decides what to do, but at a higher level then in the game. Like block, or punch, or throw. And then the character would act in response in whatever way they can, carrying out instructions from the player as they can. So the high-level fight is controlled by the player, but all the cool moves and lightning fast attacks are controlled by the computer, folowing the player''s directives, but in a realistic manner.

As a relative newbie I hope you can consider my idea without any preconceptions.
Perhaps a good system in an RPG but maybe not in an FPS would be to have the ability to earn save points. Characters would be given them for completing a dungeon or would get them for going level up or something. See Help Wanted for my ideas for a game where this idea could be implemented. I need some designers with more experience than me, so any veterans here (and some of you guys seem to be pretty good) might want to help me out.